• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

What not to do when you win the lottery

Cain said:
Unfortunately, California is like most other states in that it does not allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.
Click to expand...
I find that quite surprising. Certainly the UK National Lottery allows winners to remain anonymous, which many do (they don't seem to say how many, just that it is "often"). Obviously above a certain level it's pretty hard for people to keep their good fortune quiet, but it probably cuts down on the begging letters from strangers or distant relatives they'd never even met before.
 
Random said:
It all depends on why you buy the ticket. If you buy the ticket in order to win the lottery, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. If you buy the ticket so you can spend the next few days fantasizing about what you will do after you win the lottery, then it can be a surprisingly affordable form of entertainment.

You can look at fancy homes on the internet, check out fancy cars and restaurants, and daydream and imagine with something “real” in your pocket. Of course, like Schrodinger’s cat, you eventually have to check to see if it a winning ticket (and it won’t be). But hey, they are cheap enough, and most people spend more on coffee each week.
Click to expand...

You can do all of that without buying a ticket at all. I often check out fancy homes and fancy cars and have "what if" dreams, and I haven't bought a lottery ticket in 15 years.
 
The difference being that if you haven't bought a ticket, there's no chance of the dreams coming true.
 
Silly Green Monkey said:
The difference being that if you haven't bought a ticket, there's no chance of the dreams coming true.
Click to expand...

Sure there is. Someone you know may have bought a ticket and will will the money to you. Or you could find a discarded ticket that was the big winner.

In fact, you can't lose if you don't play.
 
Relative to every person I am related to, I am rich now. They would not be the slightest bit surprised to get a letter from me saying that I've won the lottery and you get nothing at all, so don't embarrass yourself by asking.

I am the perfect candidate to win the lottery (except I don't play more than twice a year). I was poor, got comfortable slowly, and am careful with my money. I could make good use of one of the really big jackpots. There are MILLIONS of women that would suddenly change their opinion of desiring to spend time with me.
 
Dr. Keith said:
Is random asterisk placement*in posts a sign that one will win the*lottery?
Click to expand...

It's a sign that there's something strange wrong with my browser,*so that*when I submit a post in this forum - and only this forum*- these random asterisks get added. I have yet to recognize any pattern or purpose as to specifically where in the text asterisks will show up; they just do. *After posting I can always edit the post and delete them one-by-one - sometimes I'm inclined to bother, other times not. Interestingly, editing an existing post never seems to net any new asterisks, no matter how much new text I add. It's a very curious thing.
 
Last edited:
Seismosaurus said:
You can do all of that without buying a ticket at all. I often check out fancy homes and fancy cars and have "what if" dreams, and I haven't bought a lottery ticket in 15 years.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't quite follow. I mean, are you looking at homes that you could buy given a promotion or disciplined financial planning? Or are these wildly expensive properties that you would have no hope of owning unless... you won the lottery? Powerball is another level of wealth far beyond a conventionally rich white collar professional. I imagine it's a plane of existence where you're going to get an entourage whether you want one or not, and your crew will somehow include a foul-mouthed midget. How many little people have I talked to in my life? Three? Yet, somehow, I'm going to have one in my crew. Crazy. And I won't even care about calling him a "midget," and he would just laugh along and say it's cool.

I also imagine I'm going to say things to "my boys" like "which one do you want?" And I'll be referring to attractive women who want to have sex with me, but I'm so nice that I make sure they get "taken care of." We'll be so up to our necks in pussy that the funny guy in my crew will say, "Jesus, I've got so much plowing to do I wish I had four dicks." Everyone would be kissing up to me, too. On the private jet, I might comment on the fetching flight attendant, and a consensus would quickly form, "Cain, she'd definitely blow you right now." "TOTALLY!" (Even though she wouldn't.)

I've determined I don't want that life, so no, I guess I won't buy a Powerball ticket. Things are much more manageable right now, even though the city condemned my apartment building as "uninhabitable" and kicked me out onto the street just a few weeks ago without any warning. Besides, Honda Civics are way more reliable than 911 Turbos.
 
marplots said:
Isn't it a bearer instrument?
Click to expand...

I don't think so. I think I remember a story about someone cashing in a ticket someone else had lost and the following legal case.


EDIT: I don't know how reliable this is, but:

Very much depends on jurisdiction. For instance in the UK the winnings always belong to the purchaser and cashing in a found ticket claiming you bought it could actually end you up in jail.
 
Last edited:
3point14 said:
I don't think so. I think I remember a story about someone cashing in a ticket someone else had lost and the following legal case.
Click to expand...
I vaguely remember some similar cases. I also remember a case where person A convinced person B that their ticket was a loser, but it was actually a winner, so person B trashed the ticket and then person A picked it out of the trash. I recall reading comments on the article and there were a lot of people blaming person B for being stupid enough to trust person A, so person A deserved the ticket.

IMO, it shouldn't inherently be a case "finder's keepers". If I drop a piece of jewelry and you find it, it's still my jewelry even if I didn't realize that it wasn't just a piece of cheap costume jewelry and is actually worth $10,000. On the other hand, on a legal level if I were to purposely throw it away thinking it's worthless, I've relinquished ownership - but you'd have to prove I intended to throw it away rather than it accidentally ending up in the trash.

Now, there should be a limit of course. A good faith effort to find the actual owner should be made, and after a period of time then it reverts to finders keepers. Though it's probably hard to demonstrate who actually bought a given ticket (though I know at least in my state they know where and when a given ticket was purchased and it's highly likely they have security cameras).
 
bonzombiekitty said:
Now, there should be a limit of course. A good faith effort to find the actual owner should be made, and after a period of time then it reverts to finders keepers. Though it's probably hard to demonstrate who actually bought a given ticket (though I know at least in my state they know where and when a given ticket was purchased and it's highly likely they have security cameras).
Click to expand...

In Michigan the prize goes to whose name is on the claim form - even if the ticket is signed by someone else. They do have a provision that "disputes" are settled by investigation of the Lottery Commissioner who may also send it to a judicial proceeding, but no mention of specifics on lost tickets. Presumably, a stolen ticket would be treated like any other stolen property.

But it doesn't matter who purchased the ticket, since you might buy one for me. Although, I suppose if there were a dispute, having CCTV of the purchase would weigh heavily.

I see the claim form does ask, "Are you the original purchaser of the ticket being claimed" with a yes/no and a space to explain a "no" answer.
 
marplots said:
In Michigan the prize goes to whose name is on the claim form - even if the ticket is signed by someone else. They do have a provision that "disputes" are settled by investigation of the Lottery Commissioner who may also send it to a judicial proceeding, but no mention of specifics on lost tickets. Presumably, a stolen ticket would be treated like any other stolen property.

But it doesn't matter who purchased the ticket, since you might buy one for me. Although, I suppose if there were a dispute, having CCTV of the purchase would weigh heavily.

I see the claim form does ask, "Are you the original purchaser of the ticket being claimed" with a yes/no and a space to explain a "no" answer.
Click to expand...

For clarity - I'm not arguing that the purchaser should be the one who gets the prize, but the owner. As you said, someone may buy the ticket for someone else. The purchaser is just usually the person who owns the ticket.

IMO any person trying to claim winnings on a ticket they "found" should not be given the prize without a good faith effort to find the original owner.
 
marplots said:
Isn't it a bearer instrument?
Click to expand...

Not in the UK. Cashing in someone else's lost lottery ticket is fraud.

BBC News: Lottery fraudster to pay £15,000

"Dorothy McDonagh, 61, dropped the ticket on the floor of her local Co-op.

Michael and Amanda Stacey, 34, who spent half the money, were later given 11-month suspended sentences for fraud.

A judge at Swindon Crown Court ordered Michael Stacey to pay Dorothy McDonagh £15,111 - the £111 being interest on the payment."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom